The long wait has come to an end for every Los Angeles Clippers fan as the return of Kawhi Leonard is finally determined.
Sources told Shams Charania of ESPN that Leonard intends to make his 2024-25 season debut for the Clippers on Saturday as they’ll face the Atlanta Hawks at home in Intuit Dome. The team’s injury report revealed that Leonard is questionable to play, but all signs lead to his return to competitive play.
Set for season debut
Per Chris Haynes, Leonard is feeling good and ready to go, but the Clippers will still apply precautionary measures to assure that his comeback will be successful.
Leonard’s return to play against the Hawks has been perceived already from last week. As such, the respective reports of Charania and Haynes further validated this notion.
Since he initially participated in the team’s drills and practice sessions in December, there was optimism that Leonard would be back sooner rather than later. But the Clippers superstar still underwent plenty of ramp-up procedures to complete his full rehabilitation.
Leonard notably underwent an offseason surgery to address his right knee inflammation, keeping him out of Los Angeles’ action up until this point. The injury dates back from the last 2023-24 season in which he played 68 games — his most since 2016-17 — while averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 boards, and 3.6 assists.
The knee injury cost Leonard and the Clippers in the 2024 playoffs as they got eliminated by the eventual Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks in six games of their first-round series bout.
Sky’s the limit
As Leonard recovered, the Clippers have done a great job in holding down the line without their main man. Behind the leadership of James Harden and the potential All-Star year of Norman Powell, L.A. defied odds by blazing for a 19-15 record — placing them at the No. 7 spot of the West and just 0.5 games away of the fourth seed.
Adding Leonard to this Clippers team can only offer an increased optimism for its fanbase. With Leonard’s production and star power, L.A. is certainly a team to watch who can deliver serious noise as the season looms.
Should Leonard become healthy and consistently available this time, the entire league should be wary of the title potential that the Clippers are possessing.